Champion Washington Redskins | NFC Champions Washington Redskins Start date 1987 | |
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Duration September 13, 1987 – December 28, 1987 Similar 1986 NFL season, 1988 NFL season, 1982 NFL season, 1984 NFL season, 1992 NFL season | ||
The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. This season feature games predominantly played by replacement players as the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) players were on strike from weeks four to six. The season ended with Super Bowl XXII, with the Washington Redskins defeating the Denver Broncos 42–10 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. The Broncos suffered their second consecutive Super Bowl defeat.
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The NFLPA Strike
A 24-day players' strike was called after Week 2. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were cancelled, reducing the 16-game season to 15, but the games for Weeks 4–6 were played with replacement players, after which the union voted to end the strike. Approximately 15% of the NFLPA's players chose to cross picket lines to play during the strike; prominent players who did so included New York Jets defensive end Mark Gastineau, Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Randy White, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana, New England Patriots quarterback Doug Flutie and Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Steve Largent. The replacement players were mostly those left out of work by the recent folding of the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes and the 1985 dissolution of the United States Football League, as well as others who had been preseason cuts, had long left professional football or were other assorted oddities (such as cinematographer Todd Schlopy, who, despite never playing professional football before or after the strike, served as placekicker for his hometown Buffalo Bills for three games). The replacement players, called to play on short notice and having little chance to jell as teammates, were widely treated with scorn by the press and general public, including name-calling, public shaming and accusations of being scabs. The games played by these replacement players were regarded with even less legitimacy (attendance plummeted to under 10,000 fans at many of the games in smaller markets, including a low of 4,074 for the lone replacement game played in Philadelphia), but nonetheless were counted as regular NFL games. Final television revenues were down by about 20%, a smaller drop than the networks had expected. The defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants went 0–3 in replacement games, ultimately costing them a chance to make the playoffs and to repeat their championship. The final replacement game was a Monday Night Football matchup on October 19, 1987 between the Washington Redskins at the Dallas Cowboys. The Redskins were the lone NFL team not to have any players cross the picket line and were surprising 13-7 victors over the Cowboys who had plenty of big name players cross the picket line. This game was the inspiration behind the Gene Hackman and Keanu Reeves 2000 movie The Replacements (film).
Stadium changes/ relocation
The Miami Dolphins opened their new stadium Joe Robbie Stadium. This was also the last year in which the St. Louis Cardinals would play in St. Louis; the team relocated to Tempe, Arizona the following season. St. Louis would go seven seasons without the NFL before the Rams began their 20-year stay in the Gateway City.
Media changes
Starting November 8, 1987, ESPN debuted ESPN Sunday Night Football, in which the cable network broadcast NFL Sunday-night games, primarily during the second half of the season, through 1997. ESPN went on to acquire the Sunday Night package for the entire season in 1998 and held it through 2005, after which time ESPN took over Monday Night Football and the Sunday Night package went to NBC.
Major rule changes
Final standings
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against